ABOUT US: Definition

“Spirit of Place” - definition

“Spirit of Place” is the translation of “Genius Loci”, a Latin expression used by the old Romans to indicate the special atmosphere and meaning of a place. Before building a house, a temple, a palace or even a city, they first wanted to interpret the site, nature, views and understand the ‘spirit’ of that place. Then they placed windows, columns, porticoes and rooms in the right position to emphasize, interpret and welcome that Spirit. Now, the whole country of Italy is a collage of Spirit of Places. Through the centuries people always felt the need to describe and capture this “Italian Spirit” of unique places in architecture, writings, films, music, poetry, photography and other ways of communication. For the foreigner, it is something to be discovered, understood and being fascinated by.

Italy has thousands of Museums of all kinds !!! It is the place to be for culture, art and knowledge. By using this official link, you can search by topics, interests, locations or events. Spirit of Places Ltd. is glad to give you this opportunity because we are proud of what Italy has to offer. In fact, Italy was not just the birthplace of the Western Culture, but also it has always been the leading country for art, design, lifestyle and innovations during the centuries. For thousands of years, Italy and the Italians have being creative and they have used their ingenuity, deep sense of beauty and quality lifestyle to surround themselves with comfort and style. Etruscan, Roman, Medieval, Renaissance, Baroque, New-Classicism, Liberty, Modern, Contemporary and Futurism styles, among others, have interpreted the Italian way of living and the enjoyment of life during all centuries of the Western Civilization. Italians have always been the advanguard of new thoughts...not only from or before certain periods in history, like in many other countries. Italy is the place to be for learning the historical process, thinkings, invention, creativity and visual communications.

Italy has over 25 National Parks and hundreds of State and Local Parks and Reserves. Even if the country is small and highly populated, the Italians have managed to protect many of their most sensitive and spectacular areas. In Italy these Parks are mostly protected areas, without too many facilities or conveniences. They are there to enjoy Nature, hike, be in places which are unique and beautiful. In some of these parks you can find wild animals like bears, wolves, eagles, foxes, ibex-goats, chamoises, marmots, roe and red deers... From Alpine sceneries to Mediterranean island settings; from glaciers to underwater reserves; from vulcanos to marshlands and lagoons...Italian Natural Parks are the places to escape from the city life and discover that we still belong to nature.

Italy has more than 12000 Kms (7500 mi) of bike trails and routes. This link gives you the idea of where the major routes are. Many more are at the local level. As you can see from the map (click to enlarge), many routes have their own names and many more are built or dedicated as the whole network becomes more organized. Caution: sometimes these are dedicated bike routes and sometimes they conflic with local vehicular traffic. Because of the intensity and high volume of this traffic, it can be very dangerous for those who are not used to it and every biker should pay special attention and use common sense.